Leaders of the operational and combat group detained in Odesa

The SBU Military Counterintelligence and the State Bureau of Investigation neutralized a Russian military intelligence task force in Odesa.

According to the SBU, the operation resulted in the detention of the head of the enemy cell and his closest associate in Odesa.

More than 70 firearms with optical sights and ammunition, as well as body armor, helmets, ballistic goggles and other tactical equipment were seized from them. The investigation believes that, on the instructions of the Russian secret service, at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the attackers were preparing for the seizure of government buildings in Odesa region. In addition to storming administrative buildings, the suspects were supposed to attack the Defense Forces from the rear if the occupiers approached the port city.

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However, after the failures of the racists at the front, this task force was put on standby and activated only in the summer of 2024, when it received secret missions. The SBU thwarted the enemy's intentions: it documented subversive activities and neutralized the group immediately after it was activated by the enemy.

According to the case materials, the resident (senior) of the Russian agent group was a 49-year-old resident of the temporarily occupied Crimea. After the capture of the peninsula, he moved to Odesa, where, at the beginning of the full-scale war, he began to form operational and combat units under the guise of several public organizations.

For the public, the NGOs dealt with issues of military history, ecology and jurisprudence, but in reality they created underground groups: snipers, intelligence, communications, operational support, and one of the main ones - an assault group. In the selection of potential candidates, the defendants gave preference to citizens with special skills, combat experience, or narrowly specialized specialists.

In the event of the capture of Odesa, the group members were promised positions in the local occupation administration of the Russian Federation. In total, the offenders recruited more than two dozen people to the enemy cell, who were subordinate to their leader according to the principles of military hierarchy. All of them are currently under investigation, and comprehensive measures are being taken to bring them to justice for crimes against Ukraine.

During the searches, in addition to weapons and tactical equipment, the SBU seized instructions on subversive activities, cold steel weapons, including those with the logo of the Russian special services, and computer equipment with evidence of crimes. Based on the collected evidence, the SBU investigators served the detainees a notice of suspicion under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine

• Article 28(2), Article 109(1) (actions aimed at violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order or seizure of state power committed by prior conspiracy by a group of persons)
• Article 260, paragraphs 1 and 3 (creation of paramilitary or armed groups not provided for by law).

The detainees are in custody. They face up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The SBU did not disclose the names of the detainees, but a number of media outlets reported that it was Oleg Maltsev, who was accused in the media several years ago of creating a sect and harassing journalists.

Кирило Бойко